System and a Method for an On-Line Betting Game

ABSTRACT

A system and a method for an on-line betting game comprise clients being configured for obtaining registration information from users and obtaining bets from registered users in which each bet at least comprises a user choosing a determined amount of numbers chosen from a group of numbers in which the user bets the chosen numbers will be the least chosen by other betting users. A server is configured for receiving the registration information and bets. The server is further configured for determining a placement of the numbers within the group of numbers in which a first place number is the number least chosen by betting users and a last place number is the number most chosen by betting users. The server is further configured for determining winning users by comparing the bets to the placement of the numbers. The server is further configured for sending winning results to the clients.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present Utility patent application claims priority benefit of theU.S. provisional application for patent Ser. No. 61/389,641, titled“Gaming Rule and Method” filed Oct. 4, 2010 under 35 U.S.C. 119(e). Thecontents of this related provisional application are incorporated hereinby reference for all purposes to the extent that such subject matter isnot inconsistent herewith or limiting hereof.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER LISTING APPENDIX

Not applicable.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialthat is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office,patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rightswhatsoever.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

One or more embodiments of the invention generally relate to globallynetworked gaming systems. More particularly, the invention relates to avirtual horse racing system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The following background information may present examples of specificaspects of the prior art (e.g., without limitation, approaches, facts,or common wisdom) that, while expected to be helpful to further educatethe reader as to additional aspects of the prior art, is not to beconstrued as limiting the present invention, or any embodiments thereof,to anything stated or implied therein or inferred thereupon.

Conventional systems for online gaming and betting often rely on randomchance for determining winners and losers.

In view of the foregoing, it is clear that these traditional techniquesare not perfect and leave room for more optimal approaches.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by wayof limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in whichlike reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example GUI presentation for subscribing with thesystem, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example GUI presentation for selecting bets andviewing past results, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3A illustrates an example GUI presentation, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3B illustrates an example GUI presentation, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example GUI presentation, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram depicting a conventionalclient/server communication system;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example method for operation of system forinteracting with users and for processing, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 illustrates a typical computer system that, when appropriatelyconfigured or designed, may serve as a computer system for which thepresent invention may be embodied.

Unless otherwise indicated illustrations in the figures are notnecessarily drawn to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is best understood by reference to the detailedfigures and description set forth herein.

Embodiments of the invention are discussed below with reference to theFigures. However, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate thatthe detailed description given herein with respect to these figures isfor explanatory purposes as the invention extends beyond these limitedembodiments. For example, it should be appreciated that those skilled inthe art will, in light of the teachings of the present invention,recognize a multiplicity of alternate and suitable approaches, dependingupon the needs of the particular application, to implement thefunctionality of any given detail described herein, beyond theparticular implementation choices in the following embodiments describedand shown. That is, there are numerous modifications and variations ofthe invention that are too numerous to be listed but that all fit withinthe scope of the invention. Also, singular words should be read asplural and vice versa and masculine as feminine and vice versa, whereappropriate, and alternative embodiments do not necessarily imply thatthe two are mutually exclusive.

It is to be further understood that the present invention is not limitedto the particular methodology, compounds, materials, manufacturingtechniques, uses, and applications, described herein, as these may vary.It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is used forthe purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is notintended to limit the scope of the present invention. It must be notedthat as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a,”“an,” and “the” include the plural reference unless the context clearlydictates otherwise. Thus, for example, a reference to “an element” is areference to one or more elements and includes equivalents thereof knownto those skilled in the art. Similarly, for another example, a referenceto “a step” or “a means” is a reference to one or more steps or meansand may include sub-steps and subservient means. All conjunctions usedare to be understood in the most inclusive sense possible. Thus, theword “or” should be understood as having the definition of a logical“or” rather than that of a logical “exclusive or” unless the contextclearly necessitates otherwise. Structures described herein are to beunderstood also to refer to functional equivalents of such structures.Language that may be construed to express approximation should be sounderstood unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skillin the art to which this invention belongs. Preferred methods,techniques, devices, and materials are described, although any methods,techniques, devices, or materials similar or equivalent to thosedescribed herein may be used in the practice or testing of the presentinvention. Structures described herein are to be understood also torefer to functional equivalents of such structures. The presentinvention will now be described in detail with reference to embodimentsthereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

From reading the present disclosure, other variations and modificationswill be apparent to persons skilled in the art. Such variations andmodifications may involve equivalent and other features which arealready known in the art, and which may be used instead of or inaddition to features already described herein.

Although Claims have been formulated in this Application to particularcombinations of features, it should be understood that the scope of thedisclosure of the present invention also includes any novel feature orany novel combination of features disclosed herein either explicitly orimplicitly or any generalization thereof, whether or not it relates tothe same invention as presently claimed in any Claim and whether or notit mitigates any or all of the same technical problems as does thepresent invention.

Features which are described in the context of separate embodiments mayalso be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely,various features which are, for brevity, described in the context of asingle embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitablesubcombination. The Applicants hereby give notice that new Claims may beformulated to such features and/or combinations of such features duringthe prosecution of the present Application or of any further Applicationderived therefrom.

References to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “example embodiment,”“various embodiments,” etc., may indicate that the embodiment(s) of theinvention so described may include a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes theparticular feature, structure, or characteristic. Further, repeated useof the phrase “in one embodiment,” or “in an exemplary embodiment,” donot necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although they may.

As is well known to those skilled in the art many careful considerationsand compromises typically must be made when designing for the optimalmanufacture of a commercial implementation any system, and inparticular, the embodiments of the present invention. A commercialimplementation in accordance with the spirit and teachings of thepresent invention may configured according to the needs of theparticular application, whereby any aspect(s), feature(s), function(s),result(s), component(s), approach(es), or step(s) of the teachingsrelated to any described embodiment of the present invention may besuitably omitted, included, adapted, mixed and matched, or improvedand/or optimized by those skilled in the art, using their average skillsand known techniques, to achieve the desired implementation thataddresses the needs of the particular application.

A “computer” may refer to one or more apparatus and/or one or moresystems that are capable of accepting a structured input, processing thestructured input according to prescribed rules, and producing results ofthe processing as output. Examples of a computer may include: acomputer; a stationary and/or portable computer; a computer having asingle processor, multiple processors, or multi-core processors, whichmay operate in parallel and/or not in parallel; a general purposecomputer; a supercomputer; a mainframe; a super mini-computer; amini-computer; a workstation; a micro-computer; a server; a client; aninteractive television; a web appliance; a telecommunications devicewith internet access; a hybrid combination of a computer and aninteractive television; a portable computer; a tablet personal computer(PC); a personal digital assistant (PDA); a portable telephone;application-specific hardware to emulate a computer and/or software,such as, for example, a digital signal processor (DSP), afield-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), an application specific instruction-set processor(ASIP), a chip, chips, a system on a chip, or a chip set; a dataacquisition device; an optical computer; a quantum computer; abiological computer; and generally, an apparatus that may accept data,process data according to one or more stored software programs, generateresults, and typically include input, output, storage, arithmetic,logic, and control units.

“Software” may refer to prescribed rules to operate a computer. Examplesof software may include: code segments in one or more computer-readablelanguages; graphical and or/textual instructions; applets; pre-compiledcode; interpreted code; compiled code; and computer programs.

A “computer-readable medium” may refer to any storage device used forstoring data accessible by a computer. Examples of a computer-readablemedium may include: a magnetic hard disk; a floppy disk; an opticaldisk, such as a CD-ROM and a DVD; a magnetic tape; a flash memory; amemory chip; and/or other types of media that can store machine-readableinstructions thereon.

A “computer system” may refer to a system having one or more computers,where each computer may include a computer-readable medium embodyingsoftware to operate the computer or one or more of its components.Examples of a computer system may include: a distributed computer systemfor processing information via computer systems linked by a network; twoor more computer systems connected together via a network fortransmitting and/or receiving information between the computer systems;a computer system including two or more processors within a singlecomputer; and one or more apparatuses and/or one or more systems thatmay accept data, may process data in accordance with one or more storedsoftware programs, may generate results, and typically may includeinput, output, storage, arithmetic, logic, and control units.

A “network” may refer to a number of computers and associated devicesthat may be connected by communication facilities. A network may involvepermanent connections such as cables or temporary connections such asthose made through telephone or other communication links. A network mayfurther include hard-wired connections (e.g., coaxial cable, twistedpair, optical fiber, waveguides, etc.) and/or wireless connections(e.g., radio frequency waveforms, free-space optical waveforms, acousticwaveforms, etc.). Examples of a network may include: an internet, suchas the Internet; an intranet; a local area network (LAN); a wide areanetwork (WAN); and a combination of networks, such as an internet and anintranet.

Exemplary networks may operate with any of a number of protocols, suchas Internet protocol (IP), asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), and/orsynchronous optical network (SONET), user datagram protocol (UDP), IEEE802.x, etc.

Embodiments of the present invention may include apparatuses forperforming the operations disclosed herein. An apparatus may bespecially constructed for the desired purposes, or it may comprise ageneral-purpose device selectively activated or reconfigured by aprogram stored in the device.

Embodiments of the invention may also be implemented in one or acombination of hardware, firmware, and software. They may be implementedas instructions stored on a machine-readable medium, which may be readand executed by a computing platform to perform the operations describedherein.

In the following description and claims, the terms “computer programmedium” and “computer readable medium” may be used to generally refer tomedia such as, but not limited to, removable storage drives, a hard diskinstalled in hard disk drive, and the like. These computer programproducts may provide software to a computer system. Embodiments of theinvention may be directed to such computer program products.

An algorithm is here, and generally, considered to be a self-consistentsequence of acts or operations leading to a desired result. Theseinclude physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, thoughnot necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical ormagnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined,compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times,principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals asbits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers or the like.It should be understood, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, and as may be apparent from thefollowing description and claims, it should be appreciated thatthroughout the specification descriptions utilizing terms such as“processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,” or the like,refer to the action and/or processes of a computer or computing system,or similar electronic computing device, that manipulate and/or transformdata represented as physical, such as electronic, quantities within thecomputing system's registers and/or memories into other data similarlyrepresented as physical quantities within the computing system'smemories, registers or other such information storage, transmission ordisplay devices.

In a similar manner, the term “processor” may refer to any device orportion of a device that processes electronic data from registers and/ormemory to transform that electronic data into other electronic data thatmay be stored in registers and/or memory. A “computing platform” maycomprise one or more processors.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described which providemeans and methods for a system for virtual horse racing. Users of systemmay select to bet on a virtual horse or a multiplicity of virtualhorses. User may select a combination bet where user is anticipatingselecting the sequence of virtual horses for first, second and thirdplace. Virtual horse may be represented by a numeral located on a racingjacket. As a non-limiting example, racing jacket may be multi-coloredwith elaborate designs.

Following race completion, system processes the number of times avirtual horse has been selected. Virtual horses are sorted based uponthe number of times selected. The winning virtual horse is noted as theleast selected and the losing virtual horse is noted as the mostselected. The sequence of winning virtual horse to losing virtual horseis presented as a column with the winning virtual horse positioned atthe top of the column and the losing virtual horse positioned at thebottom of the column. This is classification is the pegase's scale.

System receives, stores and processes user personal information.Furthermore, system analyzes user legal status associated with bettingvia birth date information provided by user.

System receives, stores and processes user bets. As non-limitingexamples, bets may be placed via a mobile device, cellular phone and/orglobal network. Furthermore, system sorts virtual horses with respect towinning/losing and processes sorting of combination bets.

System processes virtual races for determining winners with respect tostakes and prizes.

Following a race, results are posted by system for viewing via website.Furthermore, winning combinations, number of winners, prizes andassociated prognostic information is presented for viewing. Furthermore,participants are notified of results. Non-limiting examples of methodsfor notification include telephone, email and Short Message Service(SMS).

System may reduce the number of virtual horses for special events. As anon-limiting example, system may reduce the number of virtual horses fora week-end race.

System processes results for insuring a winner for each race. At the endof the game, the system sorts all the virtual horses that have at leastone bet. Once sorted, the virtual horses are classified in the pegase'sscale. The systems search for three (or more depending on theconfiguration of the game) virtual horses with the least amount of bets.It there isn't any one with the least played combination, the systemsubstitutes the third least played with the fourth least played andsearch for the winners. This principle is applied until either a winneris found or the system reaches the end of the scale. At this point thesystems, substitutes the second and third least played virtual horseswith the fourth and fifth. The system searches for a winner with thiscombination and then substitutes the fifth with the sixth virtualhorses. The principles is repeated until the end of the scale or awinner is found. The system applies this substitution principle untilthe winners are found.

System hosts and provides website for presenting and receivinginformation associated with users and races.

System provides information to user associated with participation.Non-limiting examples of associated information includes companyinformation and rules for participation.

System presents information associated with past results for viewing.Non-limiting examples of information presented include user win/lossgraph and virtual horse win/loss graph.

User may place a multiplicity of combination bets via system.Non-limiting examples for combination bet includes 2, 3, 4, and 5.

User may perform analysis via system by analyzing results associatedwith prior races with respect to other users.

User seeks to bet on virtual horses that other users are not placing abet.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example GUI presentation for subscribing with thesystem, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

A GUI presentation 100 includes a presentation control portion 102 and apersonal information entry portion 104.

Presentation control portion 102 enables control of GUI presentation100. Non-limiting examples of control performed include minimizing GUIpresentation 100, maximizing GUI presentation 100, reducing GUIpresentation 100 and closing GUI presentation 100.

Personal information entry portion 104 enables entry of information forpurposes of subscribing to system and creating an account.

Non-limiting examples of information entered/selected via personalinformation entry portion 104 includes user identification, password,email address, first name, last name, address, city, state, country,telephone number, birth date, credit card type, credit card number,expiration month, expiration day, expiration year, terms/conditions andsubscribe selection.

System may use received birth date information for verifying a potentialuser is of sufficient age with respect to laws and regulations forparticipation.

After entry of information, a potential user may select the subscribeselection in order to communicate the entered information/selections tothe system for processing.

Results of processing by the system are presented to the potential user.Non-limiting examples of information presented to the potential userfollowing processing include account successfully created and accountcreation rejected. Non-limiting examples for rejecting account includeinsufficient age and invalid credit card.

In operation, a potential user enters personal information andassociated selections followed by selecting to subscribe in order tocommunication the entered information and selections to the system forprocessing. The system accepts or rejects the received information andcommunicates the acceptance or rejection to the potential user.Following a rejection, the potential user may modify entered informationor selections and select submit in order to communicate information tosystem for processing. Following an acceptance, the potential user isconsidered a user and may access the created account.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example GUI presentation for subscribing where apotential user may enter information for purposes of subscribing tosystem, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example GUI presentation for selecting bets andviewing past results, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

A GUI presentation 200 includes presentation control portion 102, a betselection/entry portion 202 and a historic win/loss results portion 204.

Bet selection/entry portion 202 enables entry of amount for bet andselections for bet. Non-limiting examples of informationentered/selected via bet selection/entry portion 202 include amount ofbet, win selection, place selection, show selection, combination entry,pick 3 selection and pick 6 selection.

User may enter amount to bet for a particular virtual horse via betentry portion. User may select an outcome of win via win selection. Usermay select an outcome of place via place selection. User may select anoutcome of show via place selection. User may enter a combination viacombination entry portion. As an example, a user may select an order offinish as 6, 1, 3, where the entity represented by 6 finishes in firstplace, the entity represented by 1 finishes in second place and theentity represented by 3 finishes in third place. User may select pick 3to confirm entry of selecting to correctly pick the winners for the nextthree races. User may select pick 6 to confirm entry of selecting tocorrectly pick the winners of the next six races.

User may view past results via historic win/loss results portion 204. Asa non-limiting example, user may view a chart representing accumulatedwins and losses with respect to time.

In operation, a user enters a dollar amount associated with respectivevirtual horse icon(s). Furthermore, for respective dollar amount(s),user may select win, place or show. Furthermore, user may select aspecific combination for a virtual horse race finish. For example, auser may select the order of finish as 6, 3, 4 where virtual horse iconnumber 6 finishes in first place, virtual horse icon 3 finishes insecond place and virtual horse icon number 4 finishes in third place.Furthermore, user may select a pick 3 representing the user intends toselect the winning virtual horse race icon for three consecutive races.Furthermore, user may select a pick 6 representing the user intends toselect the winning virtual horse race icon for six consecutive races.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example GUI presentation for selecting bets andviewing past results where a user may enter amount bet and selectionsfor the outcome, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3A illustrates an example GUI presentation, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A represents the race at thestart where all virtual horses have zero bet associated with them. FIG.3B represents the virtual race at one point in time in the game, havingin first position the virtual horses with the least amount of bets, inthe last position the virtual horses with the highest amount of bets andin the starting line the virtual horses that have not bet associatedwith them]

A GUI presentation 300 includes presentation control portion 102, avirtual race track 302 and a multiplicity of virtual race horse iconswith a sampling noted as a virtual race horse icon 304.

GUI presentation 300 simulates operation of a virtual race horse track.Virtual race horse icons initially start in a starting gate 306 with thestarting gate removed following the virtual horses maneuvering aroundvirtual race track 302. The first virtual horse icon to cross a finishline 308 is considered the winner or the virtual horse icon receivingfirst place.

FIG. 3A illustrates an example GUI presentation simulating operation ofa virtual horse racing event, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3B illustrates an example GUI presentation, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

Virtual horse race icons are spread around virtual race track 302.Virtual race horse icon 304 has crossed the finish line and is thewinner or the first place finisher.

FIG. 3B illustrates an example GUI presentation where virtual horse raceicons traverse an oval track, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example GUI presentation, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

A GUI presentation 400 includes presentation control portion 102 and aresults presentation portion 402.

Non-limiting examples of information presented via GUI presentation 400include total win/loss results, race results, winnings for associatedvirtual horse icon selections, winnings for a combination, winnings fora pick 3, winnings for a pick 6 and total win/loss for race.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example GUI presentation where total win/lossresults, race results, race win/loss results and total race win/lossresults are presented, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram depicting a conventionalclient/server communication system.

A communication system 500 includes a multiplicity of networked regionswith a sampling of regions denoted as a network region 502 and a networkregion 504, a global network 506 and a multiplicity of servers with asampling of servers denoted as a server device 508 and a server device510.

Network region 502 and network region 504 may operate to represent anetwork contained within a geographical area or region. Non-limitingexamples of representations for the geographical areas for the networkedregions may include postal zip codes, telephone area codes, states,counties, cities and countries. Elements within network region 502 and504 may operate to communicate with external elements within othernetworked regions or within elements contained within the same networkregion.

In some implementations, global network 506 may operate as the Internet.It will be understood by those skilled in the art that communicationsystem 500 may take many different forms. Non-limiting examples of formsfor communication system 500 include local area networks (LANs), widearea networks (WANs), wired telephone networks, cellular telephonenetworks or any other network supporting data communication betweenrespective entities via hardwired or wireless communication networks.Global network 506 may operate to transfer information between thevarious networked elements.

Server device 508 and server device 510 may operate to execute softwareinstructions, store information, support database operations andcommunicate with other networked elements. Non-limiting examples ofsoftware and scripting languages which may be executed on server device508 and server device 510 include C, C++, C# and Java.

Network region 502 may operate to communicate bi-directionally withglobal network 506 via a communication channel 512. Network region 504may operate to communicate bi-directionally with global network 506 viaa communication channel 514. Server device 508 may operate tocommunicate bi-directionally with global network 506 via a communicationchannel 516. Server device 510 may operate to communicatebi-directionally with global network 506 via a communication channel518. Network region 502 and 504, global network 506 and server devices508 and 510 may operate to communicate bi-directionally and alsocommunicate bi-directionally with other networked device located withincommunication system 500.

Server device 508 includes a networking device 520 and a server 522.Networking device 520 may operate to communicate bi-directionally withglobal network 506 via communication channel 516 and with server 522 viaa communication channel 524. Server 522 may operate to execute softwareinstructions and store information.

Network region 502 includes a multiplicity of clients with a samplingdenoted as a client 526 and a client 528. Client 526 includes anetworking device 534, a processor 536, a GUI 538 and an interfacedevice 540. Non-limiting examples of devices for GUI 538 includemonitors, televisions, cellular telephones, smartphones and PDAs(Personal Digital Assistants). Non-limiting examples of interface device540 include pointing device, mouse, trackball, scanner and printer.Networking device 534 may communicate bi-directionally with globalnetwork 506 via communication channel 512 and with processor 536 via acommunication channel 542. GUI 538 may receive information fromprocessor 536 via a communication channel 544 for presentation to a userfor viewing. Interface device 540 may operate to send controlinformation to processor 536 and to receive information from processor536 via a communication channel 546. Network region 504 includes amultiplicity of clients with a sampling denoted as a client 530 and aclient 532. Client 530 includes a networking device 548, a processor550, a GUI 552 and an interface device 554. Non-limiting examples ofdevices for GUI 538 include monitors, televisions, cellular telephones,smartphones and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants). Non-limitingexamples of interface device 540 include pointing devices, mousse,trackballs, scanners and printers. Networking device 548 may communicatebi-directionally with global network 506 via communication channel 514and with processor 550 via a communication channel 556. GUI 552 mayreceive information from processor 550 via a communication channel 558for presentation to a user for viewing. Interface device 554 may operateto send control information to processor 550 and to receive informationfrom processor 550 via a communication channel 560.

For example, consider the case where a user interfacing with client 526may want to execute a networked application. A user may enter the IP(Internet Protocol) address for the networked application usinginterface device 540. The IP address information may be communicated toprocessor 536 via communication channel 546. Processor 536 may thencommunicate the IP address information to networking device 534 viacommunication channel 542. Networking device 534 may then communicatethe IP address information to global network 506 via communicationchannel 512. Global network 506 may then communicate the IP addressinformation to networking device 520 of server device 508 viacommunication channel 516. Networking device 520 may then communicatethe IP address information to server 522 via communication channel 524.Server 522 may receive the IP address information and after processingthe IP address information may communicate return information tonetworking device 520 via communication channel 524. Networking device520 may communicate the return information to global network 506 viacommunication channel 516. Global network 506 may communicate the returninformation to networking device 534 via communication channel 512.Networking device 534 may communicate the return information toprocessor 536 via communication channel 542. Processor 536 maycommunicate the return information to GUI 538 via communication channel544. User may then view the return information on GUI 538.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example method for operation of system forinteracting with users and for processing, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

A flow chart 600 initiates in a step 602.

Then in a step 604, member creates a new account.

As an example, a prospective user may enter personal information forcreating an account. Non-limiting examples of personal informationprovided/selected include email, name, address, phone number, creditcard details, birth date, user account identification, user accountpassword and selection of terms and conditions of use.

Then in a step 606, user accesses account.

As an example, user may enter user account identification and useraccount password via GUI 538 (FIG. 5).

Referring back to FIG. 6, then in a step 608 member configures accountpreferences.

As an example, user may configure bank account information fortransferring funds to/from system.

Then in a step 610, user selects a race to perform.

As an example, user may select a virtual version of the Kentucky Derby.

Then in a step 612, user selects to perform a bet or bets.

User may be presented GUI presentation 200 described with reference toFIG. 2. As a non-limiting example, user may select to enter an amountassociated with representative virtual icon or icons for placing a betor bets. Furthermore, user may select the type of bet, win, place orshow. Furthermore, user may select a combination where the sequence offirst, second and third are entered. Furthermore, a user may select tobet a pick 3 or pick 6 where the user is anticipating selecting the nextthree or six winners, respectively. In some embodiments, the betting ona particular race may remain open for a specified period of time suchas, but not limited to, twenty four hours or one day. In otherembodiments, the betting on a particular race may remain open until aspecified number of bets have been placed. In some other embodiments, atime period for betting may be specified, but may be extended until aspecified minimum amount of bets is received.

Referring back to FIG. 6, then in a step 614 user views race.

As a non-limiting example, user may be presented with GUI presentation300 as described with reference to FIGS. 3A-B. User may view virtualhorse icons in the starting gate as described with reference to FIG. 3A.Furthermore, user may view virtual horse icons traversing the track asdescribed with reference to FIG. 3B. Furthermore, user may view thesequence of virtual horse icons crossing the finish line. The winningvirtual horse is determined as the virtual horse with the least amountof selections for placing a bet by users. The losing virtual horse isdetermined as the virtual horse with the most amount of selections forplacing a bet by users. The second place virtual horse is determined asthe virtual horse with the second least amount of selections for placinga bet by users. The third through the next-to-last losing virtual horseare determined in a similar manner as the first, second and last placevirtual horses. After the virtual horses have been placed, the winningbets may be determined. In a non-limiting example, if the winning bet ischoosing the 3 least played virtual horses, all bets choosing the firstplace virtual horse may be extracted from all the bets. Of thoseextracted, bets having first and second place may be extracted. If thereare no matches to the second place, the ones matching first and thirdmay be extracted. If there are no matches to the third place, the onesmatching first and fourth may be extracted. The extracting continuesdown the list of placed virtual horses until a match with 3 of the leastplayed horses is extracted. In other non-limiting examples, the operatorof the game may choose the number of virtual horses that must bematched, thus defining a difficulty of the game.

Referring back to FIG. 6, then in a step 616 user views results of race.

As a non-limiting example, user may be presented with GUI presentation400 as described with reference to FIG. 4. User may view total win/lossamount. Furthermore, user may view sequence of finish for the associatedvirtual icons. Furthermore, user may view win/loss amount associatedwith representative virtual icon(s) for placed bet or bets. Furthermore,user may view win/loss amount for other types of bets such ascombination, pick 3 and pick 6. Furthermore, user may view totalwin/loss amount for the race.

Referring back to FIG. 6, then in a step 618 user may select to transferfunds to/from system. As a non-limiting example, user may select totransfer funds to/from a bank account.

Then in a step 620 execution of flow chart 600 terminates.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example method for operation of system forinteracting with users and for processing, where a user creates anaccount, accesses account, configures account, selects race forparticipation, selects bet(s), views race, views results of race andtransfers funds.

FIG. 7 illustrates a typical computer system that, when appropriatelyconfigured or designed, may serve as a computer system 700 for which thepresent invention may be embodied.

Computer system 700 includes a quantity of processors 702 (also referredto as central processing units, or CPUs) that may be coupled to storagedevices including a primary storage 706 (typically a random accessmemory, or RAM), a primary storage 704 (typically a read only memory, orROM). CPU 702 may be of various types including micro-controllers (e.g.,with embedded RAM/ROM) and microprocessors such as programmable devices(e.g., RISC or SISC based, or CPLDs and FPGAs) and devices not capableof being programmed such as gate array ASICs (Application SpecificIntegrated Circuits) or general purpose microprocessors. As is wellknown in the art, primary storage 704 acts to transfer data andinstructions uni-directionally to the CPU and primary storage 706typically may be used to transfer data and instructions in abi-directional manner. The primary storage devices discussed previouslymay include any suitable computer-readable media such as those describedabove. A mass storage device 708 may also be coupled bi-directionally toCPU 702 and provides additional data storage capacity and may includeany of the computer-readable media described above. Mass storage device708 may be used to store programs, data and the like and typically maybe used as a secondary storage medium such as a hard disk. It will beappreciated that the information retained within mass storage device708, may, in appropriate cases, be incorporated in standard fashion aspart of primary storage 706 as virtual memory. A specific mass storagedevice such as a CD-ROM 714 may also pass data uni-directionally to theCPU.

CPU 702 may also be coupled to an interface 710 that connects to one ormore input/output devices such as such as video monitors, track balls,mice, keyboards, microphones, touch-sensitive displays, transducer cardreaders, magnetic or paper tape readers, tablets, styluses, voice orhandwriting recognizers, or other well-known input devices such as, ofcourse, other computers. Finally, CPU 702 optionally may be coupled toan external device such as a database or a computer ortelecommunications or internet network using an external connectionshown generally as a network 712, which may be implemented as ahardwired or wireless communications link using suitable conventionaltechnologies. With such a connection, the CPU might receive informationfrom the network, or might output information to the network in thecourse of performing the method steps described in the teachings of thepresent invention.

Those skilled in the art will readily recognize, in light of and inaccordance with the teachings of the present invention, that any of theforegoing steps and/or system modules may be suitably replaced,reordered, removed and additional steps and/or system modules may beinserted depending upon the needs of the particular application, andthat the systems of the foregoing embodiments may be implemented usingany of a wide variety of suitable processes and system modules, and isnot limited to any particular computer hardware, software, middleware,firmware, microcode and the like. For any method steps described in thepresent application that can be carried out on a computing machine, atypical computer system can, when appropriately configured or designed,serve as a computer system in which those aspects of the invention maybe embodied.

It will be further apparent to those skilled in the art that at least aportion of the novel method steps and/or system components of thepresent invention may be practiced and/or located in location(s)possibly outside the jurisdiction of the United States of America (USA),whereby it will be accordingly readily recognized that at least a subsetof the novel method steps and/or system components in the foregoingembodiments must be practiced within the jurisdiction of the USA for thebenefit of an entity therein or to achieve an object of the presentinvention. Thus, some alternate embodiments of the present invention maybe configured to comprise a smaller subset of the foregoing means forand/or steps described that the applications designer will selectivelydecide, depending upon the practical considerations of the particularimplementation, to carry out and/or locate within the jurisdiction ofthe USA. For example, any of the foregoing described method steps and/orsystem components which may be performed remotely over a network (e.g.,without limitation, a remotely located server) may be performed and/orlocated outside of the jurisdiction of the USA while the remainingmethod steps and/or system components (e.g., without limitation, alocally located client) of the forgoing embodiments are typicallyrequired to be located/performed in the USA for practicalconsiderations. In client-server architectures, a remotely locatedserver typically generates and transmits required information to a USbased client, for use according to the teachings of the presentinvention. Depending upon the needs of the particular application, itwill be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, in light of theteachings of the present invention, which aspects of the presentinvention can or should be located locally and which can or should belocated remotely. Thus, for any claims construction of the followingclaim limitations that are construed under 35 USC §112 (6) it isintended that the corresponding means for and/or steps for carrying outthe claimed function are the ones that are locally implemented withinthe jurisdiction of the USA, while the remaining aspect(s) performed orlocated remotely outside the USA are not intended to be construed under35 USC §112 (6). In some embodiments, the methods and/or systemcomponents which may be located and/or performed remotely include,without limitation: servers and global network.

It is noted that according to USA law, all claims must be set forth as acoherent, cooperating set of limitations that work in functionalcombination to achieve a useful result as a whole. Accordingly, for anyclaim having functional limitations interpreted under 35 USC §112 (6)where the embodiment in question is implemented as a client-serversystem with a remote server located outside of the USA, each suchrecited function is intended to mean the function of combining, in alogical manner, the information of that claim limitation with at leastone other limitation of the claim. For example, in client-server systemswhere certain information claimed under 35 USC §112 (6) is/(are)dependent on one or more remote servers located outside the USA, it isintended that each such recited function under 35 USC §112 (6) is to beinterpreted as the function of the local system receiving the remotelygenerated information required by a locally implemented claimlimitation, wherein the structures and or steps which enable, and breathlife into the expression of such functions claimed under 35 USC §112 (6)are the corresponding steps and/or means located within the jurisdictionof the USA that receive and deliver that information to the client(e.g., without limitation, client-side processing and transmissionnetworks in the USA). When this application is prosecuted or patentedunder a jurisdiction other than the USA, then “USA” in the foregoingshould be replaced with the pertinent country or countries or legalorganization(s) having enforceable patent infringement jurisdiction overthe present application, and “35 USC §112 (6)” should be replaced withthe closest corresponding statute in the patent laws of such pertinentcountry or countries or legal organization(s).

All the features disclosed in this specification, including anyaccompanying abstract and drawings, may be replaced by alternativefeatures serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unlessexpressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise,each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series ofequivalent or similar features.

Having fully described at least one embodiment of the present invention,other equivalent or alternative methods of virtual horse racing systemsaccording to the present invention will be apparent to those skilled inthe art. The invention has been described above by way of illustration,and the specific embodiments disclosed are not intended to limit theinvention to the particular forms disclosed. For example, the particularimplementation of the GUI may vary depending upon the particular typecomputing device used. The GUIs described in the foregoing were directedto laptop computing implementations; however, similar techniques usingmobile computing device implementations of the present invention arecontemplated as within the scope of the present invention. The inventionis thus to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternativesfalling within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

Claim elements and steps herein may have been numbered and/or letteredsolely as an aid in readability and understanding. Any such numberingand lettering in itself is not intended to and should not be taken toindicate the ordering of elements and/or steps in the claims.

1. A computer-implemented system comprising: clients executingcomputer-executable applications being configured for obtainingregistration information from users for an on-line betting game and forobtaining bets from registered users for the betting game in which eachbet at least comprises a user choosing a determined amount of numberschosen from a group of numbers in which the user bets the chosen numberswill be the least chosen by other betting users; a server executing acomputer-executable program being configured for receiving and storingthe registration information and bets from registered users, said serverbeing further configured for determining a placement of the numberswithin the group of numbers for the betting game in which a first placenumber is the number least chosen by betting users and a last placenumber is the number most chosen by betting users, said server beingfurther configured for determining winning users for the betting game bycomparing the bets to the placement of the numbers, said server beingfurther configured for sending winning results of the betting gamedetermined by the comparison to said clients and for storing the winningresults; and a database being configured for at least storingregistration information, bets and the winning results.
 2. Thecomputer-implemented system as recited in claim 1, further comprising aweb site being configured to be hosted by said server through which saidclients and said server communicate.
 3. The computer-implemented systemas recited in claim 1, in which said server is further configured tosend to said clients the determined amount of number in which thedetermined amount is determined by an operator of said server.
 4. Thecomputer-implemented system as recited in claim 1, in which said serveris further configured to send to said clients the group of numbers inwhich the group of numbers is determined by an operator of said server.5. The computer-implemented system as recited in claim 1, in which saidserver is further configured to only accept bets for the betting gameduring a period of time.
 6. The computer-implemented system as recitedin claim 5, in which the period of time ends after a determined numberof bets have been received.
 7. The computer-implemented system asrecited in claim 5, in which the period of time ends after a determinedtime period.
 8. The computer-implemented system as recited in claim 1,in which said server is further configured to message users winning thebetting game.
 9. The computer-implemented system as recited in claim 1,in which said server is further configured to send to a client aregistered user's accumulated results of past betting games.
 10. Thecomputer-implemented system as recited in claim 1, in which each betfurther comprises a monetary value.
 11. A computer-implemented systemcomprising: means for obtaining registration information from users foran on-line betting game and for obtaining bets from registered users forthe betting game in which each bet at least comprises a user choosing adetermined amount of numbers chosen from a group of numbers in which theuser bets the chosen numbers will be the least chosen by other bettingusers; means for receiving the registration information and bets fromregistered users, said receiving means being further configured fordetermining a placement of the numbers within the group of numbers forthe betting game in which a first place number is the number leastchosen by betting users and a last place number is the number mostchosen by betting users, said receiving means being further configuredfor determining winning users for the betting game by comparing the betsto the placement of the numbers, said receiving means being furtherconfigured for sending winning results of the betting game determined bythe comparison to said obtaining means; means for connecting saidobtaining means and said receiving means; and means for at least storingregistration information, bets and the winning results.
 12. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium with an executableprogram stored thereon, wherein the program instructs a processor toperform the following steps of: obtaining registration information fromusers for an on-line betting game; obtaining bets from registered usersfor the betting game in which each bet at least comprises a userchoosing a determined amount of numbers chosen from a group of numbersin which the user bets the chosen numbers will be the least chosen byother betting users in which a server executing a computer-executableprogram is configured for receiving and storing the registrationinformation and bets from registered users, the server being furtherconfigured for determining a placement of the numbers within the groupof numbers for the betting game in which a first place number is thenumber least chosen by betting users and a last place number is thenumber most chosen by betting users, the server being further configuredfor determining winning users for the betting game by comparing the betsto the placement of the numbers; and displaying winning results of thebetting game determined by the comparison.
 13. The program instructingthe processor as recited in claim 12, further comprising the step ofconnecting to a web site for playing an on-line betting game.
 14. Theprogram instructing the processor as recited in claim 12, furthercomprising the step of receiving a determined amount of numbers in whichthe determined amount is determined by an operator of the on-linebetting game.
 15. The program instructing the processor as recited inclaim 12, further comprising the step of receiving a group of numbers inwhich the group of numbers is determined by an operator of the on-linebetting game.
 16. The program instructing the processor as recited inclaim 12, in which the server is further configured to only accept betsfor the betting game during a period of time.
 17. The programinstructing the processor as recited in claim 16, in which the period oftime ends after a determined number of bets have been received.
 18. Theprogram instructing the processor as recited in claim 16, in which theperiod of time ends after a determined time period.
 19. The programinstructing the processor as recited in claim 12, in which said serveris further configured to message users winning the betting game.
 20. Theprogram instructing the processor as recited in claim 12, furthercomprising the step of receiving accumulated results of past bettinggames.